Purdue grad travels the country to document the 'great American novel'

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue graduate Mason Engel traveled all 50 states, read 50 books and interviewed 50 authors in 50 days earlier this year, and documented it all in his upcoming film "Books Across America."

Previous filmmaking experience

During his first book trip in 2019, Engel visited 50 book stores in 50 days, including Main Street Books in Lafayette, to spread awareness of his self-published book, "2084."

It was at one of his stops that a second trip was inspired.

On his way into The Raven book store in Lawrence, Kansas, Engel saw a pamphlet in the window that read, "How to Resist Amazon and Why." This pamphlet caused Engel to plan a second, longer trip.

Two years ago, Engel embarked on that second trip with the goal to visit 100 book stores to ask 100 book shop workers why they thought it was important to shop at local, independent stores; all in 100 days, of course. This second trip included Wild Geese Bookshop in Franklin, Indiana.

It was this second trip that resulted in the documentary "The Bookstour," which is available to watch on its website, www.thebookstourfilm.com.

Books Across America

From January 12 to March 2 this year, Engel traveled through the 50 states, read 50 books and interviewed 50 authors during those 50 days.

The main purpose of this road trip was to analyze the idea of the "great American novel," and what that entails.

"Why do people read in a country that is so full of easier forms of entertainment?" Engel rhetorically asked of the question that crept into his mind during his travels.

"With social media, movies and music, why are people still obsessed with books?" he said. "And then I started thinking about our country in particular, and this notion of the great American novel. It seemed strange that you could brand any form of literature with a country. What makes a book more American then the others?

"When trying to figure out how to answer those questions, I decided — one — that I needed to fully immerse myself in books and in the book world. And two — I needed to travel," he said. "I needed to see the country, not just New York or Los Angeles where people typically think of creative hubs."

Engel spoke with both new and well-established authors, such as James Patterson and Veronica Roth, as well as Indiana author Ross Gay and others about the concept of the "great American novel."

"There are a couple of things that we learned that sort of formed the thesis of the film," Engel said of those conversations with authors.

"There's something about reading that makes it intrinsically American, which sounds like a strange thing to say," Engel said of what he learned from those chats with the authors. "I think that's something that we underappreciate in our entertainment-crazy nation.

"We're known for Hollywood outside of the country, for our movies. But we've neglected this form of story that feels very American, and that's something that we talk about a lot (in the film)," he said.

It was impossible for Engel to pick which interview stands out the most from his trip, but he noted the interview with Indiana author, Gay, who authored the book of essays, "Inciting Joy."

Gay's views on the concept of joy were unique, Engel said.

"He was refreshingly antithetical to the whole basis of our whole road trip," Engel said. "It was very go, go, go, onto the next thing, always looking ahead. And Ross has a way of grounding the people that he's around, grounding the reader with his philosophy and pondering of joy.

"So he was, I guess, a joy to talk to."

Engel stated that there will be two release phases of "Books Across America."

The first phase, set to begin in early March 2024, will release the feature-length documentary film to the backers on Kickstarter. Digital rentals and a hosted premier of the documentary will be available to those who back the Kickstarter project.

Afterwards, Engel said the film will be in the film festival circuit for much of 2024 in hopes to release the film to the public via public television in late 2024 or early 2025.

To learn more about Engel's projects, visit the Kickstarter for "Books Across America" or www.thebookstourfilm.com.

Margaret Christopherson is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email her at mchristopherson@jconline.com and follow her on Twitter @MargaretJC2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Engel explored what the 'great American novel' truly means